getin' the garden going....

Just starting to get the garden going  - I have BIG plans this year =)  after last years bummer (not bumper  total bummer crop  =(     part of me wanted to  was about to give up, instead, I spent a good part of the winter planning, reading, admiring others gardens, basically soaking up all things garden  =)  
Last weekend input in a few brussels sprouts - they had stater plants and  was so excited about growing  so I picked up a 4 pack and a couple 6 packs of pansy's (we got a dusting of snow last night and that are all ok - YAY!)  I also sowed a few seeds - 2 kinds of lettuce, spinach, short & sweet carrots, and sugar snow snap peas  =)  

The  3 varieties of cucumber seeding's - bush type pickle, basics vine variety, and my favorite lemon cucumbers - I started indoors a few weeks ago are looking good!!!   While the basil and lemon balm are still tiny little sprouts.  

The strawberries and rhubarb are peeking out!!!   and dandelions, hmm  salad?  wine?  anyone down with that?  I am thinking maybe, the hubby hasn't weeded and feeded  in at least a year - we should be good?  right??

Monday - the hubby's had the day off and he cut back all the thorny bushes....oh no no no, those were wild blackberries and they are delicious - so you can imagine how the birds and I have been a bit biter about that all week...    he redeemed himself by building me another 4 x 12 foot x 12 inch tall garden bed.   =)  

I picked some pretty 12x12x12 red cedar  planks for him to use - the wood and corner brackets cost $160  plus another $40 for the dirt, manure and peet to get it ready for growing this year.   Luckily we had some some galvanized pipe lying around  ( yes, I would have loved LOVED to use copper but at $80 for 10 ft piece of 2 inch pipe  <eeek>  and the hardware store only had up to one inch diameter of the UPVC  (PVC pipes can leach vinyl chloride, a known carcinogen - so you do not want to use that in the garden!)  anyway, I am going to have him cut a couple 2 foot sections to put in some deep watering holes in  - this will be my primary tomato bed - I companion plant so there will be other things in there but from what I have read tomatoes love deep watering and I love tomatoes - so there you have it.

Rhubarb ♥

We have Rhubarb, it came with the house - my husbands grandmother planted it, presumably a bit more than 15 years ago... so when I read about how it only produces for 10-15 years i think to myself - rubbish...  but to be safe I plan on purchasing more this fall pretty and  I am debating between Chipman’s Canada Red Rhubarb for Gurneys.com and Starkrimson® Rhubarb from starkbros.com look at that gorgeous red color!

Rhubarb Custard Pie served up on one Grandmas dishes - she'd be proud !

Today, I finally made to out to the patch after the morning showers, picked a big bundle off the stuff and returned to the kitchen...  just then my Husband stumble in saw rhubarb and immediately requested pie -   I I found a crust in the freezer, but no eggs, so he set off to his dads down the road to borrow a couple eggs...

Rhubarb pie is good, but with custard - it is AMAZING!
The recipe I (rather loosely) base my pie off of is is here (they call it cream, but IMHO eggs = Custard) I also, use a couple dashes of cinnamon and cloves instead of nutmeg and reduce the sugar by 1/2 cup...   and add a splash of vanilla to the custard (and pre-bake the crust & cover edges with foil when baking the pie) - today used only Rhubarb and no top crust (my favorite variation but it is good with or out without strawberries  (*when using strawberries add an extra tablespoon of four) and with a single or double crust) delish every time - it must be the custard!!!  


 Next I started on new a brilliant new concoction...

Rhubarb Lime Compote
1 lb Rhubarb (diced into 1/2 pieces) 
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon lime juice 
Mix everything together in a bowl... heat oven to 325 degrees.  Line a bakers half sheet (18x13x1 inch) pan with parchment and pour mixture onto sheet and spread out... bake at 325 degrees for 30 minutes. remove from oven and serve warm or cool.  I certainly could have eaten the entire bathe warm with a spoon but, I ladled it into jars to be refrigerated for later use - served over ice cream, cake or with whipped cream...  perhaps all three  - YUM!!



well I ran out of Rhubarb (for now) so I had to postponed making....
Rhubarb Lime Syrup 
by: http://hitchhikingtoheaven.com  



and 

Rhubarb Fruit Leather with Strawberries, Honey, and Cinnamon
by: http://sweetdomesticity.blogspot.com/

Ms. and Mr. Rose-breasted Grosbeak